This blog records my experiments and successes with fabric and fibers, surface design, stitching, weaving, photography and whatever else strikes my fancy. Enjoy ...
I made a little tea cozy for a French Press. I'd given the French Press to my friend Laura a few months ago so she could make "proper" tea when I came to visit. But I did not gift it with a jacket. She had to ask for one! I was so embarrassed that I had not thought of it sooner.
I'd made a tea cozy for my house a while back, and used the same general pattern.
Someone left a bundle of red patchwork squares on the Free Table at Quilt Guild the other night, and I thought that would be perfect for this project, since Laura loves red. ;-) It was!
I paired them up, and made them into hour glass blocks, then pieced them together into a larger piece of fabric, then cut out the pattern, added a back and voi la! a cute little jacket for her French Press!
I had to fold the top down so it would fit nicely through the handle, and not interfere with pouring the tea.
The closure is a simple button with a sturdy hair tie.
While we were in France, I lost a lovely little red velvet beaded coin purse that I must have purchased at The Holiday Folk Fair in Milwaukee years ago. I am please that the Fair will go on this year in November and I might be able to find another one -- or not.
In the meantime, I thought I would try to make one or two or three or four:
I stumbled across this little video and decided to give it a go. I have 4 7-inch zippers left over from making bags during the pandemic, so ...
In my wanderings through St. Vinnie's this week, I found this petite little velvet patchwork jacket for $5 -- much too small for me to wear, but just fine if I want to re-use the material for other things. And it has a little sparkle, too!
Here are the two velvet pouches.
I followed the direction in the video above. She cut the fabric 4 x 6 inches, which makes the rectangular pouch. Turns out, that's a little bigger than I wanted or needed, so I lopped off an inch (cut fabric 4 x 5 inches instead) and made the smaller pouch.
I made 3 of them to start with, following the video step-by-step. Then I decided to make the 4th. I had one more zipper and thought I could do it without the video -- Ha! I made 2 mistakes she warns about in the video: Not only did I forget to open the zipper before I sewed the lining, I also lopped off the zipper head! A little unsewing and a few swear words got the zipper head re-attached, so I didn't have to start all over (or go out and buy a new zipper)!
No fancy beading on these, but I am quite happy with the results.
Leafy lining. Always easier to see what you've got if the lining is light in color.
That said, the velvet pouches needed a little more glitz. Thus the starry night fabric for the lining.
Over all, these were astonishingly easy to make -- esp. when you consider they all have zippers. I may be making more some day. Also a good way to use up some scraps -- and the fabric stash is piling up again!
Jenny Doan from Missouri Quilt Co. explains the process similarly, but she adds an extra piece of fabric to start and stop the zipper. It doesn't seem to be necessary in the first video above -- maybe because the coin pouches are so small? I can see where the zipper stop would be necessary and helpful in a larger pouch.
I've been wearing this one. It fits well and keeps me warm.
I added a gray topper to balance it out. That easy to add, by looping it around a button inside the hat.
I've been "going-to-town" with the larger 48-needle knitting loom to make winter hats.
Although I did some wool hats, the acrylic seems to feed through the knitting mill a little better.
More Knit Hats
I think the red-and-black might be leftover wool ease that I'd used to tie a quilt.
The charcoal and confetti is an acrylic yarn that knitted up beautifully and makes for acosy warm hat. It should be softer after it's washed.
The purple hat uses a Lion brand Soft & Sleek yarn along with the black sparkle from Yarn Bee. The purple part is looser, and benefits from the brim which gives it more body and structure.
These all use Yarn Bee Soft Secret yarn (acrylic). It feels good in the store, and knits well in that it goes through the machine smoothly. But it makes kind of a floppy, looser hat. These came out longer than the earlier ones, so they flop down a bit on the wearer. The brims are a bit too loose -- I'm wondering how these will wear? Are they too loose to keep people warm? We shall see!
I am starting to give them away, so I had to take pictures before they disappear.
I gave these two to my dear friend Karla who had us over for dinner last night--first time since the pandemic struck! She made omelettes for us--made to order, as long as you want them one way. ;-) And I got to take my rightful place in her kitchen next to the old cook stove: One of my happy places! And yes, we are all vaccinated. Breathe ...
I made 2 of these scrappy table runners this week. It uses leftover 2-1/2 inch black and white strips from this string quilt and this one. These will be Christmas presents. I may make a few more, they were relatively easy to make. The hardest part was joining the binding beginning and ends.
Scrap Buster Binding Tool Table Runner tutorial by Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilts.
What you need:
The Binding Tool
8-1/2 inch block for center
2-1/2 in strips cut to size with the binding tool
8 2-1/2 inch blocks for cornerstones
Batting (about 1/2 yard to match backing)
1/2 yard fabric for backing
2-1/2 in strips for border
2-1/2 inch strips for binding
I did it quilt-as-you-go, stitching through the top, batting, and backing at once. I also used wool batting leftover from another quilt, so it has some extra loft to it.
Jordan Fabrics offers a similar tutorial for a Friendship Braid Table Runner, if you don't have the binding tool.
At Quilt Camp this year, I made a series of these Amish Folded Stars.
These will probably be Christmas presents for people this year.
This is a really nicely-paced tutorial from Crouton Crafts explaining how to make these gorgeous stars step-by-step. Also see his similar but slightly different blog post about it. I love that he appears to be using an Singer Featherweight to do the stitching.
The technique is very similar to the Iris Folding I did years ago after a class at the Fox Valley Tech.
There are some other variations to how you can set up the stars. The Gentleman Crafter has another version here.
Here are some of the "fabric kits" I worked up to take to Quilt Camp. All leftovers from past projects:
Some tips:
Work in batches.
1) Do all your cutting in one batch.
2) Get your foundations cut and marked. Eventually, I figured out to make a template out of freezer paper with the markings on it. Then I could easily trace the markings through the foundation fabric without having to think too hard about the correct markings on the ruler.
3) Fold and press all the pieces for one layer in half. Then let them cool before you start folding the triangles/prairie points.
4) Starch is your friend. Have a spray bottle of Quilter's Moonshine on hand.
5) Do 1 set of 4 triangles and place them on the foundation. Stitch them down. Then do the 2nd set, and sew them down.
6) Make some continuous binding strips. I tried to use some leftover regular binding, and it just wouldn't give on the curves. For instructions on how, see the Fons & Porter video below ...
I found this was a relaxing thing to do in the evenings after I got home from work. Usually, I make mistakes if I quilt in the evenings, so I don't usually do it. But this is more of a meditation, folding, pressing and stitching, as you watch the colors build around the star.
Very satisfying!
Here are the other ones I made:
Here's a video explaining how to make continuous bias binding from Fons & Porter:
Today, Kim asked us to consider our own unique gifts in the world--in the mundane.
Have someone photograph us doing everyday things. Sewing.
Another letter from Myriam (I love that woman!)
Although I've been sewing since about 1st grade, I've only been quilting since about 2004.
I love color, pattern and texture. I love the layers that free-motion stitching adds to a quilt.
Consider this a sneak-peak for my most recent quilt. It still needs the binding and label, but it's very close to being complete! More about this quilt soon ...
Both images used the same basic photo processing :
Layer 1 : Background Copy
Layer 2 : Kim Klassen's Wonderful Magic Texture ; Soft Light 44% opacity
Layer 3 : Text - Pea Aimee
I couldn't decide which version I liked better, so I'm offering both. Enjoy!
Here's the inside. 
